Welcome To The Orb
by TicTacToeUK
Summary: The Outsider with no memory - That's how I would describe myself. I volunteered (or on hindsite maybe was volunteered) to go on a vital mission from my Vault in Florida to a place we only knew was called 'The Orb'. I soon wished I hadn't...
1. Chapter 1

Some call me "Stranger". Some call me "Outsider". Others are not so polite. I woke up with the rest of my vault inmates a year ago, give or take. I have no recollection of how i got there. If fact I have no recollection of my past life at all other than a few snippets of fleeting memories half retrieved since we were brought back to life.

We were all cryogenically frozen, that much is certain. A large electronic display in our dining area suggested we had been asleep for nearly two hundred years. That took a lot of getting used to. Everyone else knew each other from the area, from before the freezing. They knew how they got there, they remembered the terror before the bombs fell. No one remembers me. They all claim my pod was not even there when they enterred. They all said I was a spy of some sort. If I am I have no idea. Gradually the mistrust grew less; I tried to fit in. Tried not to rock the boat.

I know from the rest of the group that we are in Florida, but we don't know much about what else is going on in the rest of the country. We get information of sorts from radio transmissions from what we think is the largest settlement near by; stories about Boston, DC as well as transmissions requesting help from unknown desperate camps. So far none of us from Vault 71 have ventured very far; we've not had too. Our supplies we have lasted well, and the mutated crocodiles; Radcrocs we call them, have kept us in our vault. That is until now.


	2. Chapter 2

The thing that has now forced us to consider hunting is now that we need some spare parts for our main generator. The backup we have works to a certain extent, but it is not very reliable. None of us want to be stuck without any power to lock the vault door, or worse still, without any power to open it back up again.

Initially several of us volunteered to go scavenging for the things we needed. I was the only one who returned, even if it was empty handed. In the wasteland near to the vault there was nothing much to gather. However that initial trip showed that I'm a very good shot with a rifle. It kept me alive. More than once actually. So a plan was formed. I volunteered to go to find the place where the radio transmissions come from. To a place called "The Orb". That was two days ago.

We knew it must be north of us; we weren't sure how far away though. The opinion was that it could only be a few miles away, it had to be - none of the radio transmitters we have are very powerful. I volunteered because I thought the group was starting to accept me. When I saw the meager supplies they gave me for the trip it became pretty clear that they hoped it was going to be a one way trip. They wouldn't even give me a real weapon to use; said it would be a waste of bullets.

I went anyway; what do I have to lose ?


	3. Chapter 3

The journey started easily enough, I made good progress. Within a couple of hours I had been further away from 71 than I could remember, not that it is a particularly good measure. The ground was flat and apart from countless abandoned vehicles and the odd tree clump there was nothing to see. There were scorched fields from time to time, and the lakes and swamps were to be avoided. Because of this I kept to the road although I felt exposed - any nearby pack of raiders or wild animals would see me from a distance away. I figured I may as well make progress while I could as there was no cover away from the road anyway.

I got lucky, I encountered nothing living. I spent that first night in an old gas station that I found next to the ancient road I was heading north on. I made myself as comfortable as I could on a bed that I discovered in a back room. It wasn't great, but it was adequate, plus I found an old rusty pistol and some bullets under the mattress. It doesn't sound much but it was an instant upgrade over the baseball bat that my vault companions gave me...I didn't sleep much. During the night I did hear movement outside but I kept still, didn't do anything stupid; whatever it was moved away.


	4. Chapter 4

At first light I climbed onto the roof of the gas station to get a better look at the area. Ahead of me, off the road to my left, probably about a mile away at the top of a slight incline was a forested area. I decided to head for that. It was the only thing of note I could see for miles.

I tucked my gun into my belt, had another look around to see if there was anything else I could scavenge from the building and then headed onwards. Once I got to it, the forest made it slower going but I felt a lot safer in there. There were places to hide if I needed it. There were some sort of flying bugs dotted around that were the size of a basketball but my bat came in useful after all. I had to swing for the fences a couple of times, but a decent hit dropped them soon enough.

I moved slowly, quietly. I was lost in my own thoughts, so much so that I almost missed it. Almost. Through the trees to my left I saw the sunlight being reflected off some metal. A lot of metal. The dense tree canopy obscured my view. I moved cautiously forward to the edge of the treeline. I paused; knelt down. There it was. Past a flattened open grey area which was marked with ancient white parallel lines was the biggest structure I had ever seen.

It must had been at least fifty meters high.

I could tell that it used to be a perfect sphere, but now it was missing a section from the top; metal poles and ripped flags hanging from the gaping hole. I had found "the Orb".


	5. Chapter 5

I surveyed the area, not quite sure of my next move. To be honest I hadn't really planned this far ahead. The vague plan of 'go to the Orb and get generator parts' seemed woefully inadequate now. I kept low decided to just observe for a while. The Orb structure itself was behind a high wall, I could see machine gun turrets dotted along the top of it. I couldn't see any people, but I was pretty confident that the moment I stepped into the open that I would be watched. I looked up at the sky - it was starting to get dark. I considered my options, the most attractive of which seemed to be to forget this place and just keep walking. I decided on another course of action though; I stepped out into the open and started to walk directly to what seemed to be giant gates built into the middle of the wall.

The flattened grey area was huge once I started to walk on it. Looking down there were numbers painted onto it. I didn't know why. I kept walking, keeping my hands in sight. I looked around, there were several burnt out vehicles nearby and far away to my right I could see some sort of rusted white train lieing on its side on the ground. I couldn't see any rails though which I thought was odd. As I approached the wall I passed under a small crumbling bridge, the original purpose for it had long since been lost to time. As I got closer to the Orb I could see that the sphere was actually made up of triangular panels, and it was some of these that had been removed from near the top of it.

I got within a couple of meters of the gates when a small panel opened up in the middle of the right one. I could partially see a face behind it. It asked me what I wanted. I said I wanted to trade for the parts I needed. It was half true; I did want some parts, I just didn't have anything to trade for them. I figured the person behind the gate didn't need to know that little detail. I was kept waiting for what seemed like an eternity, but the gates finally opened. I stepped through, under a sign that said "Welcome to The Orb". I glanced behind me when I heard the gates close together. The other side of the welcoming notice said "See you real soon". No turning back now, I thought to myself. I stood still as I was surrounded and searched; my pistol taken from me and then without warning, from behind me, I was struck on the head and the world went dark...


	6. Chapter 6

I presume I spent the whole of last night in some sort of prison cell, because that's where I woke up this morning. Dazed, with a splitting headache and not a small amount of anger building inside me.

That is also where I still find myself now. I've been sitting here for hours judging on how the shadows of the window bars have moved across the floor. The headache may have gone but my anger remains. Aparently I'm not a very patient person.

I wait some more and then I hear the old wooden door on the far side of the room being unbolted. I get up from where I've been sitting as two heavily armed men come into the room, closely followed by an old, short balding man. The short man smiles congenially at me and I take a second to study him. Dressed in a tatty grey suit and with pale skin he didn't cut an imposing figure. He looked at me. "We're not going to have any trouble now are we ?". I kept silent.

"I would like some information from you, my friend, and maybe a couple of questions answered", he continued. I still didn't speak.

"We can either do this the easy way...or the hard way...". The grey man paused to look at his enforcers and then he continued, "...but I feel it's only fair to warn you that my boys here...They love it when my guests choose the hard way..."

"Who are you ?", I finally answered.

"Ah, excellent...you have a voice. Good, Good. My name is Mayor Thompson, and I'm in charge of this township".


	7. Chapter 7

"So what do you what to know, and do you lock all of your visitors up when they arrive? ", I say; trying to keep the built up anger from my voice.

"I want to know where you have really come from. You say you want to trade, but you haven't got anything to trade with... It makes us wonder if in fact you are here to spy on us from the non believers in Unitown". The man calling himself 'Mayor' looks directly at me, all trace of congeniality disappearing from his face.

"Unitown?", I ask, genuinely puzzled. "I come from Vault 71 - to the south of here; and I'm wanting to trade services for the goods - not items...". I just made that last part up, but I recon that it sounds fairly plausible.

"Vault 71 ?", the mayor replies, "...there's no such place, our scavengers would have already found it"

"Well aparently you need better scavengers - which is maybe where I can help, everyone needs better intel, right...?". I actually start to sound confident - if I'm going to sell this lie I may as well start to believe it myself.

So I tell him some very brief details about the vault - I don't tell him the real location of it, and I tell him that we are guarded by mines and gun turrets. No harm in a little fabrication I figure. The more I speak to the Mayor, the more I get the feeling that there's something more than a little off about him; certainly more than natural paranoia would explain. I tell him that my name is 'Bret', because I guess that telling him I'm an amnesiac will guarantee a bullet in my head. He asks why I'm only carrying a pistol and no armour. I tell him it's all I need. I also point out that no one other than a vault dweller would still be wearing a bright blue jumpsuit. He nods his head to this; it is, after all, a good point. After a while I sense that our conversation, or should that be thinly disguised interogation is finally drawing to a close.

"Ok, Bret", Mayor Thompson says as he turns around to start to leave, "let's say that I believe you...you are free to wander around our fine township - maybe I do have a job for you. I will summon you when I have decided what to do with you."

With that he leaves, closely followed by his enforcers. They leave the door open.

I sit for a few minutes wondering wether this is some sort of trap, thinking about the few details the man in gray has given me. He kept mentioning something called the 'Grand Rodent', and kept refering to the people who he governs as the 'true believers', but other than that I still feel very much in the dark about this place. After a few minutes the silence in the room gets the better of me and I decide that it isn't a trap.

I walk across my cell, and out through the door. In the long corridor beyond I see no one, so I continue on to the only other door I can see. I try the handle - it is also unlocked. I push the door and step out - the bright sunlight making me blink a few times. I squint for a second or two until my eyes adjust and then I get my first proper look at township called 'The Orb'.


End file.
